(Part 2) Best vacuum sealer bags according to redditors

First, if you want to be healthy, then you need to feed your body properly. Learn about macros here:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/d0rxv6/muscle_growth/ezebxg9/?context=3
  
  Second, what's your daily eating scheduling like? Ex. just breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or with mid-morning & mid-afternoon snacks, or with dessert, and so on? I'd recommend picking one category & then working on building up a week's worth of recipes for that meal or snack eating period, so that you can add some rotation & variety into your diet. Then move on to the next category, do the same thing, and repeat until finished. That gives you a really solid foundation of recipes with a variety of flavors to choose from on a week to week basis. You can build up to more than just a week's worth of recipes as you find new recipes that you want to keep in your collection!
  
  Slowly adopting a dietary change like this also allows your gut bacteria to catch up at a normal pace; a lot of people just dive right into it & have a rough first few weeks because their GI tract isn't used to all of the fiber & other stuff flowing into it. It's like when you eat bean chili after not eating it for a long time...it can cause havoc on your system, not because it's bad for you, but simply because you don't have the right gut flora built up so that the good bacteria in your system can properly manage your new standard diet.
  
  Third, I would recommend investing in some high-quality tools. Note that you don't have to buy any of these, and if you do want them, you don't have to buy them all at once - totally okay to piecemeal it & save up for them! Here are what I'd consider the "essentials":
  
  
• A high-quality blender, such as a Vitamix or Blendtec, that will last you a really long time & actually puree ingredients, not just blend them into smaller chunks like cheaper blenders do. This is an essential tool for smoothies & soups.
  
• A food processor. A decent one runs about $40 on Amazon.
  
• A really, really good knife. If I only had to choose a single knife for my kitchen, it would be my 9.5" Dalstrong Chef's knife. This is a $130 knife that performs at a $500 level. Really expensive for just a single knife, but also really good. If you're going to do raw vegan, having an amazing, incredible knife makes kitchen work fun vs. a being a chore.
  
• Carbon-steel Y-peelers. These don't last forever, but they're cheap (3-pack for $10) & do an AMAZING job of peeling everything from fruit butternut squash.
  
• A vacuum-sealer setup. Decent vac-sealers go for about $50 on Amazon. You can buy pre-cut bags or rolls that you can to size (use titanium scissors to cut the plastic bags).
  
  If you have the budget available or are willing to save up, here are a few extra tools that are really good:
  
  
• A juicer. There are two good options: masticating & slow auger. Good ones are not cheap, but will last a long time & give you the most juice possible. Champion makes really amazing masticating juicers, and their new model has an auger for greens as well. I have an older unit & really like it for both juicing & for making banana ice cream (throw some nuts & hemp seeds on top & it makes for a great breakfast!). As far as the other design goes, the Tribest slow juicer is one of the best-rated cold-press juicers out there.
  
• Citrus juicer. This is basically a manual reamer mounted to a motor. You simply cut your citrus fruit in half, then press down, which activates the motor. If you do a lot of oranges, lemons, grapefruits, etc., this is worth having.
  
• Salad Shooter Pro. This is kind of like a portable food processor, although it's way more convenient for shredding things. The fine-shred cone is sold separately & is the one that I use all the time.
  
• If you have a large budget available, residential freezer-dryers are available for a few thousand dollars. They can be a bit finicky to operate (a lot of people spring for an oil-free pump), but if you plan on doing this long-term, you may want to start a savings program that runs for a few years to save up for one, as it has multiple benefits: it can store food for really long periods of time, and it helps reduce waste because you can freezer-dry anything that is about to go bad, instead of throwing it away or composting it.
  
  part 1/2

Very true, I'm going to link some of my equipment that I love feel free to ask questions. The pre cut bags are amazing because my portion size is consistent due to the constant container size that is/was the real game changer


FoodSaver B016C4KK20 Vacuum Sealer GM2050-000 GameSaver Outdoorsman Sealing System, kkkk Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016C4KK20/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_DxZWCbEAB17ZX


Enther Meal Prep Containers [20... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0742KGQG8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share


Enther Meal Prep Containers [20... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0742M47V5?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

100 Gallon Vacuum Sealer Storage Bags for Food Saver, Seal a Meal Vac Sealers, 11" x 16" Size, BPA Free, Heavy Duty Commercial Grade, Sous Vide Vaccume Safe, Universal Design Pre-Cut Bag Avid Armor https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H0WLQA8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_HMNWCb5E77H5M

Awkwardsoul has good comments here, but I'll add that there are bags that are not branded Foodsaver, so they are very cheap, and just as good quality....these are all that I use.

8" wide

11" wide

Not all bags are created equal. For example, these bags (Commercial Bargains 2 Jumbo 11" x 50' Commercial Vacuum Sealer Saver Bags Sous Vide Food Storage https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I1OM7TO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_yi.iybJDJ3R7Y) are the most popular on Amazon but the rolls I received were crap. The texture that creates the channels allowing air to escape was not consistent and often the exact scenario OP described would happen. Also about 1/3 through the first roll I started having issues with the vacuum not being maintained long term. Turned out there was a tiny, pin-prick hole punched through the roll. Just enough to allow the vacuum seal to leak over a period of days.

For what it's worth I purchased these (2-Pack WESTON 11"x50' Rolls Commercial Grade Vacuum Bags 3mil Vacuum Seal Rolls https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H8AL9DW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Li.iybC2V86JA) based on several recommendations in this sub Reddit. The texture is much more pronounced and so far they seem to work great.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017LG0I34/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Q2lRCbE1BAXVN

This is it

Needle probe

https://www.amazon.com/ThermoPro-TP-08S-Wireless-Thermometer-Grilling/dp/B014DAVHSQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr3_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1538423301&sr=8-2-fkmr3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=needle+probe+remote+thermometer

Weatherstrip Foam Tape (any kind that is ok for marine use is ok in water)

https://www.amazon.com/Gourd-Elasticity-Adhesive-All-Climate-Weatherstrip/dp/B079NM8758/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1538423423&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=weatherstrip+tape&dpPl=1&dpID=51TZsf6d9SL&ref=plSrch

VacMaster Bulk Bags (split the order with a friend, haha!)


https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AZ7SPBO/ref=mp_s_a_1_43_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1538423597&sr=8-43&keywords=vacuum+sealer+bags+bulk&dpPl=1&dpID=41naTidMejL&ref=plSrch

Pretty much any foodsaver-style bag will be BPA and phthalate free. They are made by using an inner layer of polyethylene, which is very stable and food safe, but doesn't have great structural properties, and an outer layer of nylon, which has more potential for leaching, but is quite durable. By using multiple layers, the bags are nice and strong, but only the polyethylene ever touches the food.

You can pretty much go with any generic foodsaver roll on Amazon, but if you're concerned, go with one that specifically state heat safety. I personally like the Nutri-Lock branded rolls, since they seem sturdier than some of the other brands I've tried. They're also sold as boil-safe to 280F, and sous vide is listed as a recommended application.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H2OC3W4/ref=sspa_dk_detail_4?psc=1